


Book 1: The Secluded Monastery

by BepisPerfected



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls Online, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:00:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29131443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BepisPerfected/pseuds/BepisPerfected
Summary: A group of four Argonian siblings in the depths of Black Marsh become determined to bring glory and respect back to their people through cunning and conquest. Their winding schemes bring them through the clutches of Daedra in pursuit of their ever-growing ambitions, no matter the brutality or deceit they must weave to achieve them. A tale of tactics and strategy, and the corruption of the minds behind them.
Kudos: 1
Collections: Paar Jun; a Biographical Account of Ambition





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally written to accompany a Skyrim house mod, detailing the history of the structure and the one for which it was built. The story was broken up into eight books, one per room. However, since work on that mod has been suspended indefinitely, this collection is an opportunity for that story to be properly released.
> 
> Appendix of terms: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29132244

#  Book 1: The Secluded Monastery

As recorded by Dremora Tzukyl, Palace Scribe.

##  Chapter 1

When the First Era dawned upon the fresh continent of Tamriel, its north was already broken and bloody. The mountainous and snow-bound land had been wracked by the legendary Dragon War, a violent uprising between the subjugated Nedic peoples and their dragon masters, in which the beasts were eventually routed. In the aftermath, great heroes would seek out the remnants of these defeated Dov wherever they might be found to slaughter them for glory and renown. The Akaviri Dragonguard would continue this hunt throughout the era as the dragons fled the region and sequestered themselves across the continent and beyond. They retreated to the most inhospitable areas to prevent being followed, hiding within the fearsome sands of the Alik’r desert to the west or sheltered deep underground within the stone-cut caverns of the Dwemer. Some went so far as to return to their ancestral homes on the lost continent of Atmora or chancing shelter amongst the abandoned peaks of Akavir, from which their most brutal slayers had first come. The fearful and foolish even sought out other planes of reality.

However, a select few dragons fled south, following the path of a previous attempt to colonize the warmer provinces many centuries earlier. This offshoot was made entirely of those select Dov who would find equal comfort amongst the thickets and waterways of the south as they had in the crags and forests of their old lairs: the green-finned blood dragons, the flat and webbed revered dragons, and the smooth-scaled serpentine dragons. They avoided the central Heartlands of Tamriel teeming with the elven Ayleids and their own Cyro-Nordic slaves and continued south, pitching easterly to remain beyond the ire of the larger kingdoms. The refugees settled briefly in the plains of Deshaan to the immediate east, though the open lowlands and hostile dark elves were not suitable for a permanent residence, and they were urged ever onwards. Eventually the Dov found respite in, of all places, the treacherous swamps of the Black Marsh in the southeast corner of the continent. The presence of strange Barsaebic Ayleids on the borders pushed them deep into the Marsh, where the land was dominated not by men nor mer, but by the aberrant intelligences of the mystical Hist trees. Here the trees greeted the dragons, recognising them as descendants of Akatosh, the God of Time, and therefore privy to great quantities of knowledge and power, and were willing to offer the refugees a deal: the Hist would conceal the beasts within the impenetrable Marsh, and in return, the Dov would reveal to the sentient trees their understanding of the currents of Time. The price for their safety was steep, though the dragons equally acknowledged that they would not be able to find such an opportunity elsewhere. Weariness from the journey across the continent and collective fear of the countless dragonslayers looking to hunt them down was enough to unite their decision, and they relented to the trees. 

Staying true to their bargain, the Hist supplied the Dov with a secure lair in the form of an ancient xanmeer, a complex of stone ziggurats from a long-forgotten age of advancement within the province. Their particular structure was known as Xiutha, literally translated as Seclusion, and contained both its own tribe of reptilian Argonians and the Hist tree Toh-Dimik, with which they shared a symbiotic relationship. The Muddy-Sky tribe would devote their lives to servitude and worship of the beasts, which the Hist hoped would placate the dragons and prevent them from attacking other areas of the marsh. This attempt would be successful, as the constant fawning the dragons received from their dedicated servants was enough to ensure their continued compliance. The Argonians were astounded by the monstrous Dov and became unflinchingly devout towards them. The Dov, in turn, were so well tended that they became pampered and tame, and it was through these Argonians that they would gradually share their secrets with Toh-Dimik, and by extension, the whole interconnected mind of the Marsh.

The dragons’ interactions with the Hist and its tribe became so frequent that, as the generations passed, the influence of the Dov even began to affect the morphology of the Muddy-Sky tribe. It was well accepted that the tribes of separate Hists could be and invariably were sculpted by it to better suit its needs, resulting in a great diversity amongst the species, and here was no exception. The Argonians grew sharper scales, thicker and longer head spines, and thin tongues better equipped to the language of the dragons. It became a known occurrence for newly hatched children to mutter mumbled pidgin forms of Dovahzul before ever learning to speak their native language of Jel, having listened to the dragons speak even while gestating in their eggs. The particularly gifted of these Kuhup-Kronamasu were brought at a young age into the sanctuary of the xanmmer to be tested by the dragons on their competency and capacity to learn. Those who passed were chosen to study Dovahzul in full, which they named the Tongue, tapping into the underlying power of the dragon’s divine language. As the eras continued, these innate speakers turned from mere scholars to Mouth-Priests for the Dov, leading the tribe as voices for their will as a Sap-Speaker would do for the Hist. In a continuation of the traditions of the northern Dragon Cult, the Mouth-Priests were granted specially carved masks enchanted directly by the power of the Tongue as symbols of their station. The intricate artifacts were designed to cover the face but not the mouth, as muffling the language was considered deeply disrespectful. The Kuho-Kronassa became a ruling council of the Murky-Sky tribe, and would pass their understanding of the Tongue to Toh-Dimik upon their death, which would inform the souls of the next generation. Eventually, these exceptional individuals became so common that every single child would undergo the dragon's trials as a rite of passage and would go on to become more associated with their xanmeer than the old tribe. Though the position of Koh-Nassa remained, by the Third Era the tribe would identify themselves only as the Secluded People, or Xiuthaleel.

These Xiuthaleel retained their reverence for the dragons and their language throughout the ages, with each new brood growing ever closer to their masters. Though their understanding was rarely deep enough to evoke more complex phrases, even a talentless Xiuthan could harness wisps of the innate magic of a single word of the Tongue. Even their names were given in vague imitations of Dovahzul, reminiscent of the pidgin speech they commonly used. Only the Koh-Nassa were permitted the honor to converse fluently. Most of Black Marsh knew little about what became of the Muddy-Sky tribe, as even Toh-Dimik had distanced from its fellow Hist, save that they cultivated exceptional power to seal away a great danger. Legends of the Wamasu-faced Hajleel abounded, and it was said that should any encounter one outside their monastery that they be treated with the utmost respect lest they get eaten or turned into flies.

The middle of the Fourth Era marked the most significant leap in the development of the Xiuthaleel. The union between one of the standing Koh-Nassa and a temple shaman resulted in a family of four hatchlings, three brothers and a sister. Each displayed a remarkable gift for the Tongue, and in an unprecedented move, the entire clutch was chosen to study with the master of the gathered Dov, an elderly serpentine dragon by the name of Vulthurzin. He found them to be brilliant, concerningly so. Each possessed a capacity for the Tongue beyond any student prior, surpassing their peers in the priesthood through raw talent as opposed to intensive study. The dragons gathered to discuss how they would deal with the siblings, with some seeing their progress as a threat and suggesting they find a way to stifle them. However, the debate was silenced by Vulthurzin, who instead proposed that they be given additional training to ensure they did not stagnate in their growth. He reiterated that all had heard the clarity of their Tongue, and in meditating upon the flavor of their Voice, he had been granted foresight. Like blood in a stream, the Currents of Time carried the scent of great power from these four. Any attempt to deny them this destiny would assuredly bring ruin to all they had built, and as such he felt it prudent that these children were encouraged to develop as they must, if nothing more than for their own safety. 

When the time came to decide who would replace the old Koh-Nassa, there was no competition. Years under the careful tutelage of the Dov had honed the four to exception, in mind, body, and Tongue. To mark the sibling's ascension, each were granted personalized ceremonial masks to befit their abilities and stature. The eldest of the group was a magical prodigy and aspiring mage, with brownish red scales, a pair of thick spines on the back of his head, and a crest of fiery crimson feathers between them. He was granted a mask of carved amber that carried the name Paar Jun, and served to amplify his already formidable magical aptitude. The second oldest was a quiet recluse with drab yellow-brown scales and only a sparse patch of yellowish feathers on his head, though he was just an apt a scholar as his elder brother. When he did speak, he revealed an exemplary knowledge about the history of both their xanmeer and the dragons themselves, and was given the bronze mask Hahfrin to enhance his subtle talents of perception and memory. Pale green and with a tuft of spines jutting from the top of his head, the energetic last of the brothers carried after their intellectualism with an unmatched curiosity for alchemy. The resin mask of Lozok improved his ability to intuit the properties of the abundant and often dangerous flora that grew around their home. Youngest of them was their feisty sister, who bore deep green scales and a flair of flat and subby spines on the back of her head. She had rejected the academia of her brothers for the more ferocious nature of their dragon masters, and was considered to have the speed and cunning of a viper. With the flint mask Nahkiir, she was said to gain the strength of a mighty lightning-crocodile Wamasu, which only furthered her prowess and passion for the fight.

So renowned amongst Xiutha were these four that they garnered even the respect of the Dov. Vulthurzin, as recognition of their skills, gifted them the collective title of _Mulzeymahhe_ , the Siblings of Strength.

It was not long after they had graduated from the Dov’s direct guidance that they began to use their status to indulge in pursuits beyond their standard leadership duties. Simple pastimes quickly escalated to deeply invested interests, consuming more and more of their time. Hahfrin's academic curiosity in their xanmeer home inevitably led him to visit others in the region, and upon studying the one's inscriptions he found a passage detailing the existence of a alien stronghold farther south. Curious, he journeyed down the Keel-Sakka river and scoured the inlands of Murkmire until he found it. A tiny colony of stone and metal was sunken and overgrown, and yet its interior resisted all consumption by the Marsh. Tubes of strange metal pumped water from the flooded sections and carried boiling steam through mechanisms of unknown purpose. The technology captivated him. Hahfrin began to obsess about the ruins and collected every scrap of information he could that might even relate to it: mold-bound tomes from passing traders, shreds of texts rotted to illegibility by the swampy climate; anything at all. His investigations led him to note the similarity to the ruin and the similar abandoned structures of the long-lost Deep Elves of the north. The more that he delved into the intricacies of this subterranean culture, the more he became convinced that these Dwemer had indeed constructed the sunken remains so far from their original homeland. Levying his status as a Xiuthan priest and with promises of treasure inside, he recruited some local Argonians to aid him in excavating the ruins.

Lozok quite enjoyed his leadership role and was more than happy to take over for his reserved older brother when he departed on expeditions, though he did not lapse in his alchemical studies either. He had long experimented with the dangerous cataleptic chudwort fungus, and in secret, small quantities of equally potent Hist sap. During a period where all the Koh-Nassa were present in Xiutha and his responsibilities were lax, Lozok reached a breakthrough of his own. He discovered that varied mixtures of sap and powdered chudwort spores could create an induced state of suggestion in whoever ingested it, with varying levels of delirium and paralysis depending on the quantities involved. He began by testing its manipulative potential with passing traders, in a bid to help improve his brother's desperate attempts at bartering for books. Continued successes inspired continued risks, and he eventually found himself in the political affiliations of the An-Xileel, a faction that had dominated Black Marsh since the Oblivion Crisis two centuries earlier. Though his position did not warrant him to be directly involved with the court dealings of the Archwarden, he increasingly desired engagement with them, not to perfect his recipe, but to satisfy his growing fondness for political discussion and debate.

Nahkiir, ever the warrior, had spent her time practicing with the combative aspects of the Tongue. She would spar often with few similarly inclined Xiuthaleel, sometimes even going on daring hunts to test their abilities in the field. She would interweave physical attacks with an aggressive usage of the dragon's language, and would go on to refine this into her own martial style, which she named _Ziirokein_ , the balance of spirit and war. It focused on timing the use of the Tongue with fluid strikes or blocks, amplifying the force of a hit while negating that of an opponent’s. However, it was inherently tied to her favored weapons, a pair of hand axes, and could not be properly applied to work with heavy two-handed weapons or with a shield. Despite this, her constant training with the Tongue had made her nearly as accomplished as their eldest, and by far most ambitious, brother.

Paar Jun had not neglected his studies, but rather delved into the underlying mechanics of the dragon language. He believed that by understanding the nature of Dovahzul, he would be able to exploit its power in ways never before considered, and worked constantly to further his comprehension. This led him to investigation into where such a raw and potent kind of energy was sourced, and this, in turn, guided his study towards that of the godly Aedric magics. In learning of the Aedra, he too learned of their inverse, the far more potent Daedra, and the practiced mage soon drifted into examinations into the nature of the hellish realms of Oblivion and its inhabitants. After months of intensive deliberation, Paar Jun crafted from the Tongue a shouted phrase to summon the _Daan Kulaan_ , the Prince of Fate: Hermaeus Mora, the demon who hoards all knowledge. The two spoke, and just as his fellow Mulzeymahhe, he learned.


	2. Book 1 Chapter 2

##  Chapter 2

On the 15th of the Sisei (the third month of the year, noted in greater Tamriel as First Seed), 4E 212, Paar Jun summoned the masses of Xiutha to their sanctum beneath the roots of Toh-Dimik for a grand communion. With the help of the entire tribe, the Koh-Nassa were enticed into a meditative stupor using the Hist as a conduit to connect them to the greater planes of Aurbis. The statuesque figures were tended to dutifully by the Argonians for a period of forty days, being cleaned and fed while their spirits were departed, until they suddenly awoke once more. The siblings remained weak and incapacitated from their effort and spent another week to recoup from their endeavor. When they were strong enough to next emerge, they announced to Xiutha what had transpired during their meditations.

The three youngest Mulzeymahhe had woven their limbs into a system of etheric roots to anchor themselves to the mortal realm of Mundus, and each used a free arm to hold their eldest brother by the legs and tail. Paar Jun had then journeyed upwards through the veins of a Sithic trunk, swimming through the phloem of collective souls from their entire species on his way to the branches of the farther realms. Here he had been exposed to the combined experiences and emptions of every Argonian to have ever lived, and noted that it was a pathway of unfaltering agony, with cobblestones of fleeting joy drowned out by a floodplain of suffering. He swam for seven years until he reached the branches, where leaves crowded his eyes and helped him to see, and as he looked down he saw eight roots of Bone gathered and spread politely. The trunk was his watching Tower in between, for on the limbs were true spires, and though he met them in the middle, he did not live upon one, and therefore his heart must be the Stone to stay anchored and walk upon. Rather, he was in the gap, and he was outside it, and he could see that there must be a shape to this, for it was everywhere, everywhere, two shapes and the same, but he had not earned the privilege to recognise it. Thus the bark did splinter, and he fell tumbling through the answer to the source. Upon crashing through the bottom back to the surface, all four siblings had become so entangled with each other that it took Jun days to forget what he had seen and remember what he had not. It was only once the bite of apotheosis dulled that he had been able to make sense of anything. While Hahfrin and Lozok had attempted to unravel his experiences, it was Nahkiir who grounded him properly. What they _did_ understand was that the Argonians as a species had lived a history of cumulative hardship. Isolation of the Xiuthans in their xanmeer monastery had saved them from this pain, though the Mulzeymahhe could not help but to mourn the fact that for all their power, they had done nothing to spare others. Through rampant discussion and debate, Jun had come to the conclusion that the people of Black Marsh were in need of salvation, and the First Koh-Nassa of the Xiuthaleel would be the catalyst for it.

Long had the Xiuthans accrued power through worship. Thus, he discerned, the starting point for redemption would be for the rest of his species to do the same. Jun created a new pantheon that he was certain provided perfect combination of safety and power that would both appeal to the tribes of the Marsh while also providing them with the means to better themselves. The three main members of this new collective would be Sithis, Atakota, and Hur Momora. Sithis, a personification of the Void Between, was already a staple of Argonian religion through their connection through the Hist, and as such sat at the center of the pantheon. Atakota was an existing Argonian incarnation of Akatosh, not widely adopted but known, and Xiuthans had been worshiping the Aedric dragon god since the arrival of the Dov. However, the introduction of a Daedra, especially one that was a complete mystery to most of Black Marsh, was a shock to be sure. Hur Momora was a thinly veiled personification of Hermaeus Mora proper that was better suited to pronunciation in Jel. Paar Jun assured them that the triarchy of gods, an Aedra, a Daedra, and the Void between, would ensure perfect balance. Black Marsh had no formalized restrictions on religion, with most worshiping Sithis simply because of the tangible connection they had to the entity through the Hist. The only vendetta any Argonians held against Daedra was against the marauding Mehrunes Dagon and Molag Bal, both responsible for attempts at invading the mortal world, though particularly with the An-Xileel’s victory over the former and short memories burying the latter, even that was minor.

With extensive persuasion on Lozok’s part, he was able to use his contacts within the An-Xileel to advertise adoption of the Xiuthan Cult across Black Marsh, encouraging even the construction of small shrines by local tribes. Devout shamans and skilled orators were recruited as travelling priests known as Xal-vasteiwo to preach this new faith across the Marsh. Atakota, God of Time, and Hur Momora, Prince of Fate, were quickly seen as two sides of the same principle: preparations for tomorrow and lessons from yesterday respectively. Within a dominant ideology that had little concept of linear time, these gods filled in the fringes of existing Argonian beliefs and helped to solidify the otherwise nebulous domain of Sithis. Soon after, these Speakers of the Sacred Change began to associate their new deities with more tangible concepts to better apply them to the tribes. Hur Momora represented depth as found in the murkiest water or the densest swamp, while Atakota personified the openness of clearings and sky, with Sithis embodying the cycle of life and change that characterized everything in between. Some particularly zealous Xal-vasteiwo would even suggest that the water, air, and living swamp were the physical bodies of these intangible deities, though this interpretation was not widely adopted. 

The Koh-Nassa took this one step further, with most of the members seeking out communion with other gods in addition to the existing pantheon. Paar Jun was quite particular to Mora, though equally sought power from the Daedric Prince of Bargains, Clavicus Vile, and Aedric god of magic, Magnus, known as _Krein_ in the Tongue. Lozok sought to enhance his ability to charm through worship of Sahn Gleen and Dibe, an Argonian incarnation of the Daedric Lord of Debauchery Sanguine and the Kothringi manifestation of the Aedric goddess of beauty Dibella, respectively. Nahkiir pursued those who might improve her combat expertise, namely the Daedric Prince of Deceitful Combat Boethiah, manifested as Bo’Weexa, and the Aedric goddess of the winds and air Kynareth, under the name _Kaan_. 

Only Hahfrin did not sink into worship. Rather instead, he sunk ever deeper into his studies of the Dwemer. The ruin he had discovered, Btharzaleft, turned out to be a significant station and mining facility. The elves had sought a material found only in the south of Black Marsh, and in exceptional abundance in Murkmire: a yellow-gold crystal infused with aetheric magic. Hahfrin had seen shards of these used to power enchantments deep within some xanmeers, called Vakka stones, but never had he encountered such great quantities of it. Fragments of ancient texts suggested that there existed a similar material far to the north in the great Dwemer cities, but they had found it nearly impossible to work with and were considering possible alternatives. In the deepest section of the ruin a massive tunnel stretched off seemingly forever, though when the Koh-Nassa explored further he found the passage to be partially collapsed. Rails lined the bottom of the tunnel and wheeled metal carriages were discovered to roll along them, suggesting they were used to transport the mined Vakka stones rapidly to some other station farther north. Determined to unravel the mystery of this ruin, Hahfrin directed all his efforts towards repairing the steam carriage, and sent excavation teams down through the tunnel to clear the rails of any rubble and reinforce the walls. Eventually, once he restored steam power to the machine, he used the carriages to ferry workers and supplies to and from the deeper excavation sites as they pushed ever further inland. Inscriptions inside the ruin suggested that the passage led into a place known as Fal’Zhardum Din, somewhere in modern Skyrim.

Hahfrin’s discoveries at Btharzaleft interested Paar Jun greatly, seeding his mind with the means to bring some of his ideas to realization. He had begun to daydream of grand plans ever since his revelation, each one more ambitious than the last. Lozok had helped integrate him more directly within the affairs of the An-Xileel, who had made some of the most effective displays of Argonian power within the last Era. Ever the scholar, Jun’s first taste of the politics of his region would not be his last. The faction had been instrumental in organizing a resistance against Dagon during the Oblivion Crisis, forcing many dremora warriors in service to the Daedra to close their own gates into the mortal plane to prevent invasion by the Argonians. The An-Xileel had later orchestrated the wildly successful Accession War by invading Morrowind to the north and reclaiming ancient territory from the Dunmer. Historically, Black Marsh had been used by the rest of Tamriel as to house prisoners, hide pirates, and source their slaves, but the An-Xileel had proven undoubtedly that the province was a force to be reckoned with. Jun wanted to capitalize on this by claiming the entirety of Morrowind from those who had caused his people the greatest pain. However, the An-Xileel’s first attempt at ravaging the province had failed due to the actions of the Dunmeri House Redoran. An Argonian army on its own would not be able to defeat the hardened Dark Elves without a long and taxing war. However, Hahfrin's investigations into Skyrim revealed that the Nords harbored a similar distain of Elven kind that could be used to their advantage. Back in the Second Era, the Ebonheart Pact had united the Nords, the Dunmer, and the Argonians against their common enemies. Paar Jun now hoped to reclaim the lands of the Ebonheart Pact as a new empire: the Ebonheart Reclamation. By taking command of the Nords of Skyrim, he would be able to hit the Dunmer from both sides and swiftly conquer them on both fronts, proving Argonian might beyond a doubt and ensuring the respect of the rest of the continent. 

Vulthurzin had remarked years before that he could taste the breath of Alduin on the wind, Firstborn of Akatosh, and that dragons were returning to Skyrim. Weakened by the comparatively fresh civil war between the Imperial Empire and the Stormcloak rebels, in addition to various dragon attacks, Jun believed his Reclamation could pour in through the entrance of Btharzeleft and take over Skyrim from the inside out. Soon after, Morrowind too would fall to the might of the Reclamation.

Paar Jun proposed this to the Archwarden of the An-Xileel, a portly toad of an Argonian called Tsolko-Waj. He was infamous for his reserved and cautious nature, and though he was interested in the First Koh-Nassa’s claim, he was still speculative. He wanted to have a stronghold in Skyrim before the An-Xileel would offer their support, despite Lozok's best attempts to convince him otherwise. There were rumors that the Elven armies of the Aldmeri Dominion across southwest of the continent were planning to subjugate the whole of Tamriel, and he did not want to engage in a heavy war with such a threat on the horizon. Jun countered that the individual nations of Skyrim, Morrowind, and Black Marsh stood a far better chance against the threat united. Though the swamps in the heart of their province could shield them from attack as they always had, Jun asserted that the An-Xileel had proven that taking the offensive could earn them true victory rather than just a stalemate. Still, Tsolko was prepared to only offer a minor force, and only once any proof of success had been provided. 

Vulthurzin opposed the Koh-Nassa or any of the Xiuthaleel attempting to become military leaders, preferring their previous ways of meditation and seclusion. He had tolerated their peaceful cult, and encouraged them to persevere in this pursuit of change through speech as opposed to war. Jun turned around and accused his old teacher of being complacent with the continued suffering of his people. This grew into a heated argument between the Dov and the Koh-Nassa who once served them, coming to a head in the form of a shouting match between Paar Jun and Vulthurzin. Jun demonstrated the power he had cultivated as the dragon's student and enhanced through his dealings with the divine, shouting a gout of fire so ferocious it tore holes in his master’s wings and sent the old wyrm tumbling to the ground. The impact crumbled a section of Xiutha, though earned him a decisive victory. Paar Jun did not kill the dragon as all thought he would. Rather, he left the old Dov alive and branded him a coward. He already had authority over the Xiuthans of their monastery, but with their serpentine master handily disgraced, the remaining Dov were unsure how to proceed. They considered fleeing or killing Jun outright, though fears of a second Dragon War and the prophecies of the deposed Dov plagued them. Unwilling to risk another exodus into the tumulus conflicts of the rest of Tamriel, they begrudgingly pledged their loyalties to the Mulzeymahhe. With his leadership unchallenged, Paar Jun ordered the Xiuthans to retrieve the ancient armor in the vaults of their xanmeer in preparation for a more active role.


	3. Book 1 Chapter 3

##  Chapter 3

Within weeks of his brother’s takeover, Hahfrin’s excavation teams finally broke through into the farthest station of the Btharzaleft tunnel system. On the 3rd of Midyear 4E 212, Jun sent his sister and her group of Xiuthan fighters to secure it. They stormed the ruins loud and hard, putting down the defensive automatons in a flurry of flint and fury. While the warriors distracted the machines, Hahfrin was able to locate their control center and deactivate their combat protocols remotely. The team was ill-equipped to handle the superior Dwemer automatons, and if not for their extensive Ziirokein training, they likely would have suffered heavy casualties. In the aftermath, there was hardly an intact hand axe or sword remaining, and they were forced to scavenge blades off the destroyed machines in order to continue exploring. They discovered that the station’s exit was lower than the rest of the ruin and had become submerged under water. As such, the station had not been desecrated by cave creatures, leaving comparatively pristine. 

Once they had established a camp in the station, Nahkiir elected some of her warriors to patrol with her through the flooded sections while the rest remained behind to protect her brother. The Argonian’s gills allowed them to explore freely through the water without fear of drowning, and the swimmers spent hours scouring the remainder of the ruins. One of their group was a practiced skipper by the name of Veysan, who had often ferried the Koh-Nassa's hunting parties through the Marsh, and he quickly proved himself to be just as capable in the water as out of it. Upon discovering a corroded centurion machine that remained locked in its defensive protocols, he whipped around the automaton while the rest were caught by the fierce currents of its flailing limbs. He was able to jam his kopis in an unarmored gap under its arm, where the flint sword shattered in the mechanisms and disabled the entire construct. Nahkiir was impressed by his skill, though the cocky mariner was more upset about losing his favorite blade than the surprise attack. 

The team progressed out of the station and found themselves in an underground lake in a massive Dwemer cavern, with ceilings higher than some mountains. The water was the brilliant luminescent blue, matching the ghostly giant mushrooms that sprouted from the steep crags of the cavern. Not far from the entrance were the ruins of a tower that rose from the base of the lake all the way up through the bedrock. Exploration of the structure revealed it was seemingly built to house an artifact of some kind, though it was notably absent. The Koh-Nassa sent her new second to retrieve her brother while she investigated an elevator at the tower's peak. In a matter of minutes, the platform arrived at its height and Nahkiir found herself standing on a snowy mountainside in the north of Tamriel. By the time she had retreated from the freezing air back to the dank but comparatively warm tower below, Hahfrin had joined them and was obsessing over the inscriptions in the stone structures. He postulated that the cave system must be the Fal’Zhardum Din he had read before, ‘Blackest Kingdom Reaches’, and that they had broken through to the Mzark cavern system of eastern central Skyrim, for which this particular tower was named. It was all his sister could do to pry him from the ruins and bring him back to the station.

Upon the team’s triumphant return to Black Marsh, they found Jun had been busy. Stockpiled resources and enthusiastic Xiuthans were immediately sent to fortify Btharzeleft as their base of operations in the province. The steam engine ran every week from Black Marsh to Skyrim and back, stopping for a day at each end to be loaded with supplies and people, then making the journey through the tunnel once more. The An-Xileel gathered soldiers to garrison the ruin first, followed quickly by workers to help clear and repair the station. Next came jewelers, the only practiced metal workers in Black Marsh, who were trained by Hahfrin to fix the aging and damaged steam pipes of the structure as Reclamation engineers. The huge cargo stores of strange blue stone were cleared out to make room for soldier barracks, with the Dwemer artifacts within taken to be documented and rubbings made of any inscriptions, before being sent to Black Marsh to be smuggled and sold across Tamriel to finance their efforts. A paltry collection of Dwemer weapons and plating scavenged from the automatons were issued in shifts to acting guards, and the remaining worthless scrap was melted down melted down to aid repairs. A few Xal-vasteiwo accompanied a young Hist sapling to be planted in the main hall of the station to comfort the inhabitants. Repair and refit efforts in Btharzaleft spilled over into the towering ruins of Mzark, which provided access via elevator to the surface of Skyrim. Both were quickly converted into active Reclamation bases, with Hahfrin taking up residence in the latter. 

With the station now a proper stronghold, Tsolko-Waj offered the An-Xileel’s full support to Paar Jun’s Reclamation. They promoted him to Trunk Warden of the An-Xileel, giving him express command over those deployed to the northern province. As part of Jun's plan, a convoy of three ships was sent to dock in Skyrim’s busting city of Solitude, though only one, carrying Lozok, would ever arrive, doing so on the 29th of the month. The other two escort ships were ordered to break away just before they reached the harbor and shipwreck on the shores between the previous capital of the province and the port city of Dawnstar, forming a beachhead into Skyrim from the sea. This encampment, to be known as Sea-Brine Shanty, was intended to look like the main staging ground for Argonian troop occupation, though was in fact a decoy to draw attention away from Btharzaleft. At his sister's request, Veysan was installed as the captain of the convoy to ensure the operation went to plan. 

The ship that eventually limped into Solitude’s harbor appeared to be extensively damaged by a storm, though in fact this was further deception by the crew, who had purposefully broken it to keep up the act. Masquerading as root-herald of the An-Xileel, an ambassador of sorts, Lozok claimed that the faction he represented wished to establish a diplomatic relationship with Skyrim. He alleged that since both provinces had emerged from a bloody internal conflict, they could find strength together as allies. Of course, no conflict of the kind had occurred in Black Marsh, but seeing as nearly no news ever left the province, he believed this secret to be safe. While his ship was being repaired, Lozok was tasked to gain the confidence of the local governor, which the Nords titled as Jarl. He was quickly introduced to the leader of this hold, a woman by the name of Elisif. Once the wife of the previous High King of Skyrim, she had spent the last twelve years since her husband’s death as a sad and generally impotent ruler. Lozok decided that the quickest way to gain her trust would be to finally cheer her up, and he secretly poisoned the vast wine stores of the Blue Palace with his clodwort concoction to open the whole court to similar persuasions.

However, this was only his first step. The alchemist had labored in secret to create a unique elixir that would give him a distinct advantage in his endeavor, and not long after docking in Solitude, the recipe was refined and completed. It activated in the presence of his personal fragrance, causing a faint pleasure in the host. Proximity to him over an extended amount of time would cause those affected by it to create an unconscious association of him with that pleasure, just as one trains a animal with treats. It operated under the premise that the scaly musk of an Argonian was far different than the subtle smell of a Nord or other races, though Lozok used one of his own scales in the mixture in order to make it specific to him as opposed to any of his crew.

To warrant this artificially improved mirth, he encouraged revelry wherever he went. Of the few things known about the Nords were their love of fighting and festivities, and Lozok guessed the easiest path to their hearts was through their bellies. To celebrate his stay in Solitude, he brought casks of Black Marsh Bloodwine to the Blue Palace, so named for its deep red color, and would carry crates of Argonian Ale to the taverns to offer free drinks to the locals. He claimed that his ship was stocked to the brim with the stuff, and when he got offers for orders of it, he graciously provided. The Nords of the city regarded him as a particular oddity, but his drinks were good and his company entertaining, so their fondness for the seemingly wealthy and eccentric lizard only grew.

Meanwhile, operations below Skyrim continued. Of the many natural inhabitants of the Blackreach caverns were the Falmer, once a race of Snow Elves who had been enslaved by the Dwemer and turned into hunched blind monsters in the millennium following. They infested every dwarven ruin in Blackreach and even made camps in the wilderness of the expansive subterranean land. The Falmer proved exceptionally territorial and even more violent in their interactions. Armed Reclamation patrols or negotiators looking for amnesty could not even get close before being struck by poisoned arrows and forced to retreat. Initially the Reclamation suspected that the sight of Dwemer weaponry and crude plate armor had inspired the attacks and considered abandoning them, a welcome suggestion to the Argonians who found the heavy armor to be itchy and irritating on their scales, though this theory was proven false once they discovered that the Falmer had no eyes at all. How a blind race had become such excellent archers was a mystery, though scout reports suggested they hunted primarily by sound and would move their heads constantly while they were aiming. Hahfrin believed that their brains were comparing the almost undetectable delays of a sound between their large ears, and with each movement of their head they could gather further location data to home in on their targets. The fact that much of Blackreach was silent aside from the rhythmic humming of distant Dwemer machinery likely only assisted them in being able to better sense their surroundings. While Hahfrin believed that this intellect could make them exceptional archers or mages for the Reclamation if they could be allied, without a way to communicate, their only choice was to cut them down.

Paar Jun sent out negotiators to many of the other sentient races and organizations around Skyrim to gain support for his organization, to much greater success. The province had many disgruntled groups that they hoped to use for their cause, letting the locals fill the ranks in place of An-Xileel troops. Negotiators were sent to the major Orc strongholds sprinkled across Skyrim to negotiate with the chiefs, though a more significant amount of the Reclamation’s attention was focused on the western hold of the Reach, where the Forsworn rebels lurked. Both the Forsworn and the Orcs were overtly tribal cultures, a similarity they shared with the Argonians, and the Reclamation hoped to use this to appeal to them. The Forsworn Reachmen of the sundered hills were fierce opponents to the Nords of Skyrim, a hatred Jun found useful. After a few weeks of tense negotiation, on the 18th of Sun’s Height, the eldest Koh-Nassa managed to earn an audience with their King, Madanach, and his Hagraven advisors. Jun's promises sounded too good to be true to the gathered Reachmen, but that did not mean they fell on deaf ears.

To each Orc stronghold and Forsworn redoubt, a document of alliance was drawn up and signed by the leaders of the respective factions to ensure their cooperation with the Reclamation. It was more of a formality to ensure both sides were clear on the agreement as opposed to relegating any real power in the page itself. It permitted them freedom of worship and continuation of their traditions without persecution, and autonomy over their respective lands under the rule of the Reclamation. However, no word was to be spoken of the organization’s existence, nor any incriminating information given out, so as not to expose them prematurely.

The first of the Mulzeymah personally saw to the dragons that remained in Skyrim. Many had been killed permanently in recent years, leaving only the strong and secluded to roam the skies of the province. Two loyal Dov from Xiutha accompanied him, the green dragons Lokkunal and Faadrathmaar, to back up his claims of righteousness, though invariably interactions with the local dragons ended in battles of strength. Jun did not have the raw power of the Tongue as his opponents, though he had learned how to meld traditional spells with those of the voice to make his lightning strike with the force of Kaan and his fire burn as if breathed by Atakota himself. Not all these negotiations ended in victory, but even in stalemate the Dov acknowledged him as a formidable opponent. Some pledged allegiance to him in defeat, others were offered dominion over the extent of the Ebonheart reaches in exchange for service, though there were those who refused to bow to a mortal no matter the offer and would only abide leaving him alone.

Even with a small compliment of dragons at his call, Jun desired more. Ancient Dov laid slain and buried in dragon mounds that dotted Skyrim, remnants from the Dragon War millennium before. Alduin the World-Eater had raised many of these Dov before being killed himself, though a few remained undisturbed in their mounds. Jun did not want this power to disappear with the legendary Firstborn of Atakota. He communed with Hur Momora atop one of these dragon mounds high in the mountains and asked if the demon would grant him the Words of Power required to raise them from their graves. The Daedric Prince told him that such knowledge was of immense value, and therefore came at an immense price. He wanted a dragon’s soul as compensation. Jun could not simply slay one, as its soul would still remain beyond Mora’s grasp. Instead, he wanted a dragon to willingly submit itself to his control.

Paar Jun called out to the subjugated dragon Rahfenaar, who was obliged to come to him. This Dov in particular had been one of the first to be defeated by Jun in Skyrim, fierce but greedy even by a dragon’s standards. He landed and asked why he had been summoned. Jun explained the basics of the Xiuthan Cult and elaborated that his triarch god Hur Momora wished to have an arbiter of his will upon Skyrim, and sent the Xiuthan out to find the strongest being in the land. Jun stated that he had chosen Rahfenaar, as he had been his most worthy opponent, and to receive this gift he would only need to offer himself to the Daedric Prince. In return for doing so, he would be granted limitless power, access to lost magics, and domination upon all he encountered, with the only stipulation that it occasionally be directed upon the Daedra’s enemies. The dragon greedily accepted and the two summoned the Daan Kulaan together.

Mora appeared as a writhing mass of tentacles within a deep swirling abyss, and after hearing the dragon’s offering the tendrils began to quiver. They lashed out and seized the beast, slithering around his limbs and coiling around his neck like a noose. Then, the tendrils pulled taut, and heaved the struggling dragon into the realm of Apocrypha. Rahfenaar thrashed and shouted, cursing at Jun for tricking him, before being enveloped by the wretched chasm. Mora remarked that this was not the first Dov pulled into his domain, but it was the first to go willingly. He congratulated Jun for this gift and granted him the knowledge he had asked for, then departed to claim his new prize.

Jun now turned to the dragon mound before him and spoke with all the authority the Tongue could muster to demand the Dov rise from his slumber. The mound smashed apart and the bones within suddenly came alive. Vines of flesh began to grow and intertwine themselves between the fossils, sprouting skin and musculature as the skeleton assembled. The Dov rose to his feet, clad in the beautiful amber-gold scales of the eldest dragons, and stated his name to be Krahvenaak. Jun recognized the eminence of the beast and equally the importance of the act. He proclaimed that it was by his will alone that the dragon had been resurrected, and as such the Dov was bound to him. The dragon, in turn, was more than appreciative to have been returned to life and pledged himself as the Mulzeymah's loyal protector.

Meanwhile, the occupation of remote clans continued. At one point, Jun received a message from the Rift hold in the southeast of Skyrim. As part of the conditions of their alliance with the stronghold of Largashbur, the Orcs wanted the An-Xileel to take down the Giant who had been preying on the stronghold. He had come alone and was thought to live by the edge of Lake Honrich. When the An-Xileel found the Giant, he was sitting against a tree, sharpening the point on his club with a rock while mumbling to himself. The negotiator realized what a formidable foe this Giant would be and requested the Trunk-Warden come and assess the situation. Rather than kill it, Jun heard the sentiment of his bronze-faced brother whispered in his ears and wondered if they could ally it. He ordered the forces to prevent the Giant from attacking Largashbur, but not to engage it otherwise. Once again, he communed with Hur Momora and asked to learn the language of the Giants. However, in no place had the Giants shared their language except with themselves, and so it was kept secret even from the Prince. An entire lexicon was a far more enticing prize than a single phrase, so Jun decided to bargain. He asked that in return for an offering of a live Giant the demon would loosen its grip on the knowledge of its language, so any worshiper may be granted it upon request. Mora conceded the deal so long as the proper offerings were performed at his shrines, as he delighted in his growing influence through the Cult and felt generous.

Paar Jun had his youngest brother craft a special paralysis poison and gave it to his An-Xileel bowmen. Each dipped their arrows in it and fired at the Giant, though it was only brought to its knees. It moved lethargically but maliciously, crawling and slowly trying to grab at the Argonians. Before any of them could be killed, Jun summoned Mora to entangle the Giant and drag him into Apocrypha as well. Pleased with Jun’s success, he gifted knowledge of the Giantish language to all the Argonians present, and remarked how similar it was to old orcish. Unsurprisingly, Paar Jun then sent his men off to use this newfound gift to negotiate with the otherwise wild and unorganized Giants. Gerthok of Sleeping Tree Camp was so impressed that the Reclamation had come to bargain in his own speech that he readily agreed to work with them, insisting that it would be rude to ignore the respect of such an act. Unfortunately, many others did not see it that way and chased the negotiators off.

With their new allies, the Argonians began to prepare and outfit their soldiers, properly this time. Haphazardly assembled Dwemer plate was rare, heavy, and uncomfortable, and it seemed everyone was eager to see its use discontinued. Originally, Jun wished to armor his soldiers in the open styles traditional to Black Marsh, where most of the protection was provided by one's own scales, however their short time in the frigid cold of Skyrim’s climate had quickly eliminated that idea. Even those protected from the elements in Blackreach did not dare leave the humid and steam-heated ruins without a few layers on to stave off the chill. Nahkiir presented a solution in the form of a suit of Nordic armor she had taken off a bandit chief while clearing the area surrounding the surface exit of Mzark. The steel had been infused with ebony to strengthen it, and the suit was laced with furs to keep the wearer insulated. Jun was impressed and sought out a way to produce something similar to outfit his army. Steel and furs were easy enough to come by, but the rare ebony ore would be the key ingredient and few mines in Skyrim produced it. Luckily, they happened to be in contact with one of them.

The stronghold of Narzulbur was nestled into the Velothi mountains that marked the eastern border between Skyrim and Morrowind, and had been built around a rich ebony vein. At Jun’s request, the Orcs there began to fashion dozens of suits of armor and weapons for the Reclamation. A massive smelter was built to accommodate this, mixing molten steel with small amounts of ebony ore from the mine to create a tough material they called greysteel. It was far stronger than steel and almost comparable to ebony in its durability.

The An-Xileel were then sent out to capture any iron mines they could to supply Narzulbur with the materials it needed. Of the dragons subjugated by Paar Jun, one was a petty frost dragon named Kodaarviing who lived at the summit of the Northwind mountains nearby. He had heard that the Reclamation desired these ores and suggested that the mine beneath his lair would be an excellent and comparatively close source of iron. Jun assessed this and approved it, sending some of the Orcs of Largashbur to act as miners there. However, the dragon was not content to see all this ore leave from its clutches so easily and demanded that he be the one who controlled the distribution of iron from his mine. Jun arrived on the back of Krahvenaak to speak with him, though before the Dov could get a word out he immolated the dragon in his own nest. Upon raising him again, he declared that since the Dov wanted so desperately to hold on to his ore for longer, he would now be the one responsible for carrying the shipments to Narzulbur back and forth. This earned Kodaarviing the affectionate nickname of the Pack Dragon by the miners, who teased the beast's plight in menial labor. The other dragons at Jun's command were not so enthused, and such humiliation of one of their own made it clear that the Mulzeymah was not to be defied.


	4. Book 1 Chapter 4

##  Chapter 4

To mark their first military operation in Skyrim, and distract from production on the opposite end of the province, a small Reclamation force marched to the Reach to meet up with a Forsworn army in the hills outside the hold capital of Markarth. It consisted of Nahkiir, a small detachment of Xiuthan and An-Xileel soldiers in fresh greysteel armor, the Xiuthan strategist Tsuchus, and the dragon Reinhahlok. King Madanach had summoned the whole of the Forsworn to take back the Reach from the Nords, and called upon the Reclamation to aid him as a proof of loyalty. The young Koh-Nassa and her warriors were more than happy to join in the fighting, and she joined the Reachman King at his war table to plan their assault. The city was incredibly defensible, backed up to a sharp mountain and repurposed from an ancient Dwemer fortress. Still, they believed they could overtake it. Tsuchus suggested that perhaps they could storm the city from the inside by sneaking in through a Dwemer corridor underground, though Nahkiir reminded him that they the mushroom thickets in the west of the Blackreach caverns remained mostly unexplored, and charting a passage through would take valuable time they did not have. The plans were concluded and, as dusk fell, the attack began. 

The Forsworn led the assault by storming up the canyon towards the city, causing the guards to bar the gates shut. The city guard attacked from the battlements, firing arrows at the approaching forces, though leaving them vulnerable from above. Reinhahlok swooped over the cliffs and torched them, forcing the guards to retreat into the stone buildings for cover. With their strongest defense broken, Nahkiir and her warriors slipped from the dragon’s back and unlocked the gates to let the Forsworn inside. Together they stampeded through the city, with any opposition who stepped out either cut down by the rampaging army or burned to a crisp by their dragon. 

From there, they burst through Understone Keep and slayed Jarl Thongvor Silver-Blood, last of his clan. Madanach claimed the throne for himself and announced that on that day, the 8th of Last Seed, that the Reach was once again a sovereign state. The Reclamation, meanwhile, quickly and quietly seized the assets of the now-deceased Silver-Blood Family, who owned nearly half the Reach. They placed Tsuchus in command of the collection and distribution of these assets, specifically that of the plentiful silver that had earned the family its wealth. As an act of good will, Tsuchus returned the various mines around the hold to the ownership of the Reachmen, though with their profits heavily taxed to support the Reclamation. His control over the silver trade led to many of the locals referring to him as Silverscale, though rarely was it with any endearment. Still, the Reachmen were ecstatic to have reclaimed their homeland and were able to overlook the comparatively minor costs. Those who lived in Markarth who did not want to do so under the rule of Madanach and his Forsworn were instead offered the opportunity to serve the Argonians.

The elderly wizard Calcelmo was offered the unique opportunity to join the Reclamation research team in Mzark Tower to aid their efforts in deciphering the secrets of the lost Dwemer, as he was the species foremost expert and maintained a museum of specimens in the City of Stone. He was wary of the lizardfolk, but his desire for knowledge far outpaced his discontent with their invasion. He had expected to be hounded by incompetents upon reaching the subterranean complex, thought was shocked by the insightful mind behind Hahfrin's bronze mask. The pair would often huddle over some inscription or artifact and begin rambling in jargon that few but the other could fully understand, and then go on to scribble incomprehensible notes as to some obscure facet of Dwemer manufacturing or society. Jun was less amicable towards the wizard, and made sure to inform him in no uncertain terms that he could not publish or divulge any details of the operations in Blackreach, nor his research performed therein, unless given express permission by the first Koh-Nassa himself, or risk painful death at the hand of his brutish sister. Despite the high stakes, the wizard proved to become an integral part of the work to be undertaken within the tower.

One of Calcelmo’s other endeavors had been deciphering the language of the Falmer. He had found an artifact decades prior that held translations from Dwemeris into ancient Falmeris and had completed his translation of the ancient text hardly a year before the Reclamation’s arrival. When An-Xileel patrols from Blackreach brought in a captured Falmer shaman, both he and Hahfrin eagerly tried to use his notes to speak with her. To their dismay, the once-elegant language of her ancestors had degraded just as the rest of the race. Her speech was simplistic and guttural, with many words having been crushed into Dwemer counterparts or shortened drastically into slang, and most of the strict grammatical rules being omitted altogether. Much of what they could not decipher was considered to be all manner of profanities, partially due to context clues and partly due to the way with which she spat them at her captors. Attempts to offer food, shelter, or even employment were met with similar resistance, and the pair concluded that as much as the Elves despised the surface dwellers, they detested each other just as much. The entire language and culture of the modern Falmer seemed selfishly focused around the hatred for all others, including their own kind. They spent their lives subsistence farming mushrooms or insectoid chaurus in the little colonies they had carved out for themselves, or raiding the surface and their neighbors for slaves and supplies. Trade had become a foreign concept to them, and though Hahfrin still believed that perhaps one day the Falmer could be re-civilized, he doubted it would be within his lifetime.

Defeated, they tried to release the shaman back into the wilds, but surprisingly she refused and instead insisted they kill her. Hahfrin was outraged at the thought and asked her why she would not want freedom. She replied bluntly that her tribe was dead and the other tribes would kill her, so rather than starve in the wilds or get eaten alive by a cave troll, she wanted them to just get her death over with. Hahfrin would do no such thing, though realized that this might be his best chance at beginning the civilization process. He decided to ‘enslave’ her, as the Falmer understood the conditions of such an act, to use her as an assistant around the lab. As she had declined to give them her name, he called her _Nimiinne_ , or No-eyes in the Tongue. This had come after much deliberation, for they struggled to think of anything nicer about their vulgar assistant. Still, Hahfrin made sure that she was provided with the same food and luxuries as rest of his team, and ensured that she had a clean and comfortable place to sleep. He hoped that by showing her some manner of kindness she might one day be able to teach that to the rest of the Falmer. Nimiinne, however, was less receptive than anticipated. She would sleep curled up on the stone rather than on the soft bed provided and would tug constantly at the warm clothes that the rest of the team wore to stave off the chill of the caverns. At meals she would hardly eat, and over the course of mere days had become quite sickly.

Hahfrin realized that in his eagerness to provide the best for her, he had instead deprived her of what she needed. Snow Elves had gotten their name from the reputation of walking barefoot through the tundra with no apparent infirmity, so the warm winter coats he insisted she wear to stay safe were instead causing her to overheat dangerously. Immediately he replaced her wardrobe with the light airy garb of Black Marsh, clean but exposed to the elements. Her soft bed was exchanged with a mat interwoven with moss, softer than the cold ground she was used to sleeping on but nearly as firm. Hahfrin even had glowing mushrooms collected from around Blackreach to supplement her diet. Steadily, Nimiinne’s health improved. She remained bitter and profane at the best of times, but slowly began to be more inclined to help the team of artificers, generally with small tasks like sweeping or retrieving their tools. In one instance she even saved a life, sensing the activation of a Dwemer spider before Calcelmo had realized he had awakened it and striking it down with a bolt of lightning as it leapt to attack Hahfrin. The artificers were thrilled to see their altruism was rubbing off, though when the Xiuthan went to hug her she became frenzied and sunk her sharp teeth into his arm. While healers were tending to him later that day, Hahfrin joked that two steps forward and one step back still left them one foot ahead.

Calcelmo was not the only member of Markarth to become a key figure within the early Reclamation. Orc smiths had long found success in City of Stone, and the personal blacksmith of the Jarl, the esteemed Magrah gra-Ghorza, was no exception. She was offered to become a prestigious smith for the Reclamation should she work in Narzulbur, which she hesitantly accepted. However, Magrah quickly turned out to be instrumental in orchestrating the Reclamation’s armor production. Narzulbur was ill-equipped to handle mass production, with inexperienced smiths and rampant disorganization leading to expensive materials used up in simple mistakes. She wasted no time in taking charge of the situation.

First, she halted all operations until Paar Jun agreed to meet with her. In order to provide what he wanted, some serious changes and investment had to be made to the stronghold. Magrah insisted they expand the boundaries of the Narzulbur walls, giving them more space to work and build more forges. In addition, producing armor on an industrial scale would attract plenty of bandits, so they needed more guards than just the handful of Orc hunters who lived there already. Narzulbur itself was starved for people, and they needed more miners, smiths, and workers to keep up with demand. She also pointed out that the armor coming out previously was comparatively flimsy and wanted to completely rework the design and composition for a better product.

Jun approved her requests, though they were unexpectedly stopped by Chief Mauhulakh. He proclaimed that he had gone along with the Reclamation because they were bringing prosperity to his stronghold, but he refused to allow them to completely overtake it. Magrah ignored the ineffectual chief and tried to push past him as she had done plenty of times before, but he grabbed a blade off one of the workbenches and held it in front of her. Outraged that he would raise one of her own swords against her, the smith flew into a fury. She swatted the blade away and punched him in the face, and he retaliated by doing the same. They tackled each other to the ground, punching and kicking wildly, though Magrah managed to get herself on top. Sitting on his chest, she slammed her fist into his skull as though she were hammering white hot iron, pounding over and over again while the workers watched on with horror. They managed to pull her off of him, though by that point they realized that she had bludgeoned the Chief to death with her bare hands. Magrah managed to calm herself down, though the faces of her workers were all a mix of fear, anger, and uncertainty. In killing the previous chief, she had essentially won the right to rule, though the notion of a female chieftain was deeply against tradition. Of course, Paar Jun knew very little about the finer points of Orcish doctrine and cared even less if they did not suit him, so he simply slapped Magrah heartily across the back, congratulated her on becoming chief, and ordered everyone to get back to work. Any who may have disagreed with the decision knew better than to voice such an opinion while there was a dragon perched on their longhouse.

With the matter of ruling settled, Magrah was free to focus on carrying out what she and Jun had approved. She contacted the other strongholds, asking for workers and supplies to further the Reclamation, specifically orichalcum. In order to correct the problems with the previous greysteel mixtures, she wanted to supplement expensive ebony with the more common ore to produce an alloy she named greensteel. The resulting metal combination of ebony, steel, and orichalcum was nearly as hard as the former but worked more like the latter, making it easier to produce with Orcish smiths who were familiar with it. The slight green hue of the metal blended in with forests and deep water, providing the wearer with rudimentary camouflage. She also redesigned the armor, replacing the time-intensive scales and chainmail with segmented metal splints layered over a predominantly leather cuirass. Joints and segments that required greater mobility were reinforced with studs or shingles, though great effort was made to ensure that the armor conformed to the body of the wearer so as not to waste material or add unnecessary weight. Furs lined the collar and interior to keep the wearer warm and cushion against blunt attacks, while the metal strips were lighter, easier to produce, and provided better range of movement than the previous incarnation, though they did not deflect blades as efficiently. Her inspiration came from the similar armor worn by the Xiuthan soldiers, though her creations were of notably higher quality than their ancient and decayed suits. 

It was not long before Orcs from across Skyrim were flocking to Narzulbur. Magrah worked tirelessly to make sure the stronghold continued to prosper, ordering new forges and lodgings to be built to accommodate the coming workers. An-Xileel guards stood on the improved battlements, and shipments of armor flowed out constantly to the Great Lift at Mzulft, a nearby Dwemer ruin connected to Blackreach. Nahkiir and her loyal Xiuthans had set to work clearing trade routes across the vast subterranean caverns, allowing the Reclamation to move supplies covertly. Pelts sourced from Forsworn camps and Orcs and ore from the mountain Strongholds were sent down the Great Lifts at Nalzthdbar and Arkthzand in the Western Reach and were quickly moved through Mzulft to Narzulbur in the far east. Supply trains pulled by scaly guar packs ran the roads from the mushroom thickets of the west to the brightwater crags of the east, and the An-Xileel fiercely protected these convoys to ensure their stocks of armor and weapons continued to improve. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Book 2 at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29131683/chapters/71516058


End file.
